A Heart Grown Cold (Altered Version)
by Zimithrus1
Summary: He had a frozen heart for a personality. No one had ever seen him laugh, cry, or even smile. His only expression was the smoulder he always wore. Words like ice. Some say his heart was cold and dead. Although, a single SOLDIER was going to try the impossible. Break the icy heart of the small blonde cadet. CxZ Pairing
1. Chapter 1: Ice

_Alrighty you guys, here's chapter one! Newly revised and ready to go! For all you new readers checkin' this story out, I hope you enjoy it and the many roads it will travel in the future :) Anyhow, let's do this!  
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_~XChapter 1: IceX~_

"Son of a-!" The cry of a young SOLDIER shouted down the hall.

Three other SOLDIER's were waiting for this one. Today, a new shipment of recruits were coming in today, and the first thing they did, was assess their battle skills and instincts. All of the infantrymen had been gathered and were about to start the test down in a large training room below.

"He's going to miss it if he doesn't hurry." The one with black hair sighed. Strapped to his back was a very large sword that he never used. His blue eyes were locked onto the streach of empty hallway. He was waiting for his student with narrowed vision.

"If that happens, it's his own fault. He'll just miss a good show is all." The one with auburn hair and milky blue-green eyes retorted with a small snort of amusement. His arms were folded an locked across his chest. His prized LOVELESS book, tucked away in his red leather trench coat.

"Hmph." The last one grunted out, fully aware that the Second Class they were waiting on had a habit of being fashiobable late. His long flowy silver hair stretched down to the end of his black leather trench coat. His icy blue eyes looked dull and unamused, but then again, they always did.

He was staring at the simulation room beyond the glass in the observation room. All in all, about twenty new cadets shifted nervously, waiting for the simulation and the evaluations begin. But one caught the silver haired SOLDIER's eyes. He stood tall and firm, a smoulder was locked on his lips from under the helmet. He looked serious. Almost too serious in a way. He ignored the others around him and only stared straight ahead at the empty space of the large room surrounding him.

"Hey. Look at that one." The one with long silver hair pointed out.

"What is it Sephiroth? Found one that spiked your intrest?" The auburne haired one spoke up, looking through the glass, following the invisible path of Sephiroth's pointing finger.

"Look at that one Genesis." He responded when said auburnette's eye contact was recieved to the firm cadet in the room below.

Other SOLDIER's were watching from other rooms all around the upper floors of the simulation room behind glass windows, just like these three SOLDIER's were doing. Some looked to be placing bets, some looked with rapt attention, staring at their favorite one.

"What are you guys looking at?" The un-named SOLDIER first-class asked his other first-class friends with an arched eyebrow. His arms had been folded across his chest comfortably and he shifted his weight over to the right as he stood.

"This cadet here. Take a look Angeal." Genesis spoke, motioning him over with a quick motion of his hand.

Angeal peered over the two as his gaze locked onto the mystery cadet that stood tall. He certainly looked like an interesting one. Even under the helmet, the ravenette could tell that this cadet was serious. Not only that, but he was also determined. You could see it in the way he held his head up in a near arrogent manner.

"Did I miss anything yet?" A new voice spoke, panting and out of breath.

Angeal peered over his right shoulder, his deep blue eyes locking onto the young teen behind him. "About time Zack. We were just looking at this strange cadet." He responded to his student's question.

Zack was beginning to perspire from his sprint in the halls. His dishevled off black hair was flung in every direction, and his thick bangs fell into his face and masked his Mako blue eyes, always tinted with micheviousness and never ending energy. He approached the window and shoved his way to the front in between Sephiroth and Genesis.

"Don't push Zack!" Genesis hissed, nudging the second class with his elbow roughly. Zack only stuck his tounge out at Genesis, unphased from the rough shove, and looked out the window.

He spotted the cadet right away, due to the fact he was still, tall, and not shifting nervously like his comrads beside him. Not to mention he was standing at a good distance from the other infantryman. He did not want to be grouped with this bunch it seemed. Somehow, one could just tell.

"Good afternoon to you all. Today, we are here to assess our new batch of infantrymen. We will see what skills they have, and how they will put them to use in battle. If they do poorly, they will return back to their hometown until they are ready. Those who exceed our expectations or pass with a fair evaluation, will be able to stay, and call themselves a rightful infantryman. Give us a moment to set up..." A voice spoke from down below.

You could clearly hear every spoken word, even behind the glass. The attention of SOLDIER's and new cadets alike shifted their gaze to the edge of the training room, where three people sat behind a small fold-out table. The one who had spoken earlier had sandy blonde hair. Most of it was tucked behind his ears, although a few strands fell into his face out of near definace. Fixed upon the bridge of his nose, were thin silver framed glasses, catching the light of the training room. This man was Lazard, the Director of the SOLDIER program.

Along with this man, on his right side sat a black haired man. His hair was tightly tied back in a ponytail, and he had a red dot in the middle of his forehead. He was dressed in a formal black suit, complete with a black tie to match. He was Tseng of the Turks. He was most likely here to scope out likely candidates for their program. The Turks were the president's right hand men you could say. They did his bidding, helped to scope for likely Turk and SOLDIER candidates, and also did a lot of dirty work on the side.

Finally, on the left of Lazard sat a man dressed in a white lab coat. He had greasy brown hair tied back into a ponytail like Tseng's. He also had glasses like Lazard's fixed on his face, the nosepieces serving to good to him since the bridge of the gasses were digging into skin. His analytical brown eyes scanned the crowd of new infantrymen. He must be here to find candidates worthy enough for Mako treatments and booster shots to further enhance their physical ability. The man believed if you came here and exceeded expectations, you were worthy of his time.

"Thank you for your patience." Lazard began. "We will begin with the test. Hojo and Tseng will be evaluating your skills, as well as I. Line up!" He ordered.

The group hesitantly began to form a single file line. The mystery trooper only rounded back and headed to the end of the line, were he waited last. He still held a smoulder under the standard issued hemlet.

"Huh. That's interesting." Zack piped up.

His face was almost pressed against the glass. His heavy breathing from running down the long corridor, was still with him and fogging up the window. He cleaned it off with his glove and his attention was pulled back to the simulation room. The first cadet in line nervously began to step forward, his rifle clutched in his brown gloved hands tightly. You could tell he was shaking terribly by the way he held himself. He looked like a dog frightened by an oncoming thunderstorm. It was near pitiful.

Across from the observation rooms upstairs from the training room, there was a simulation room, where some assistants fired up a large machine to distribute a virtual monster or two to the training floor below. After a few switches and buttons were pressed and fiddled with, a monster began to pixelize just a few feet away from the first infantryman. When the pixelization was done, none other than a Smogger stood tall before the frightened looking infantryman.

The first infantryman in line was nervous as he gripped his rifle. The cadet behind him, nudged him forward out of impatiance. The first gulped loudly and shakily approached the virtual mechanical monster. It rushed at the trooper, which caused the teen to shrei and fire widly, missing the Smogger by a long shot. Its' robotic eyes blinked and glimmered in an unfamilier light and it quickly unleashed its' Deadly Waste attack. Deep purple liquid rushed at the trooper quickly, bubbling and steaming. The infantryman quickly stumbled back, tripping over air as he fell onto his rear with a thunk.

"Amature." Sephiroth commented with his usual scowl, present on his face. He knew this infantryman wouldn't pass the evaluation. He'd be sent back home before he could even say chocobo.

"Shh!" Zack exclaimed sharply, wanting to hear every little detail and every little breath. His eyes were glued to the fight down below through the glass. It was always fun to watch a new batch of infantryman assess their skills. Next to Zack, Sephiroth just rolled his eyes and went back to watching in silence.

The Deadly Waste swallowed the tropper in its' thick purple liquid, and quickly began to eat away at the material of his uniform. Sure, the monsters might be virtul, but any attack they perform is as real as any real monster, and any wounds you get, stay with you. The infantryman screamed, then passed out from fright.

Hojo narrowed his eyes from behind his glasses and scoffed in annoyance. He didn't have any time to watch failures. Tseng just mutely shook his head, disappointed. So far, this batch wasn't doing so hot. Lazard had smacked the palms of his hands on top of his head as it shook in disbelief at the troopers reaction to the attack. The medical team saw this as their cue to drag the fainted trooper away and check for serious injuries.

Zack was snickering and snorting loudly, hardly able to contain the urge to laugh up a storm. He couldn't hold it back for very long and husky laughter burst from his chest making his body heay with every deep breath he somehow managed to catch. He recieved a small slap across the head. He stopped laughing and looked up at the perpatraitor. Genesis had smacked him.

"Knock it off Puppy. I can't hear a thing with your loud voice screeching at my eardrum." The man said with a playfull, yet annoyed, scoff.

Zack narrowed his Mako blue eyes and snorted at the auburnette, regaining his composure from earlier as he looked out the glass window again. One by one, the troopers fell, barely succeeded, or passed with a fair evaluation. Now, the only cadet that remained to be evaluated, was the one wearing the smoulder across his face from before. Lazard and the others had seen this man's behavior and decided it would be wise to give him a nice challenge. So, a Sweeper pixelized. Excited murmurs whispered through the crowd of cadets still remaining, and the SOLDEIR's watching from the floors above.

"I've never seen them test out a beginner with such a strong monster before." Angeal spoke, with eyes locked onto the ferocious mechanical monster which was spinning its' turrets rapidly, gettting ready to fire thirty rounds in about two seconds at any given moment.

"Hey look at that. His facial expression hasn't changed." Sephiroth pointed out.

The other three gazed down to the cadets face. It had not even changed a bit. Not even a frown or a bit of a smirk. Not even a twitch of the corners of his lips. His posture was still the same as well, straight and focused.

He drew his rifle up quickly with precision. He began to shoot at the mechanical monster. It gaurded and began to stomp its way over to the trooper. When it's turrets began to fire, the cadet sidesteped to avoid injury, and continued to shoot at the scorpion, being able to shoot the rifle one handed. It's turrets spun faster, shooting out quicker rounds on the left and right side of the trooper, to prevent him from sidestepping again. The trooper, had yet to take even one small scratch. His facial expression still remained the same; Cold and firm. The sweeper scanned the trooper for vital information within a beam of light. Same facial expression, same attitude.

The trooper lunged right at the Sweeper and drew out his issued nightstick, in which he jammed it into the bulky body. It let out a mechanical sounding cry and shakily stepped back. He pulled the nightstick out and drew up his shotgun within a matter of miliseconds, and shot the beast, just missing the core my a mere inch. it let out a cry and scuttled back. The trooper followed, only to have to quickly backstep multiple times to avoid its' rapid fire, shooting out in mulitple directions.

"He moves fast." Sephiroth commented, eyes firmly locked on the trooper's every movement.

Genesis's eyes were also raptly gazing at the swift and graceful movement of the trooper. "He shows talent. It all depends whose unit he's put under." He said.

Shinra divided new recruits up into units, directed by first-class SOLDIER's, or willing higher ups, in charge of the regular army. Sephiroth had a unit, even though they were all fearful of him, Angeal had a unit, and they were superb fighters. Genesis refused the offer of a unit. If he was going to command anyone or anything, he would do it one-on-one, or not at all. Anyone under his tutalage, had to have some skill, and not be weak. Zack was not well trained enough to have his own unit yet, even though he had been begging for one. Lazard said he would have to grow up a bit more, apparently being too close to the age of the infantrymen to teach them.

Their attention went back to the window when the mechanical beast screamed again. The trooper had loaded his nightstick into his rifle and shot it right into the core of the machanic monster and out the backside, taking chunks of wire and parts with it. The Sweeper tumbled down, then desinigrated into nothing but the codes from which it was born.

The three judges looked very impressed with the infantryman's display of battle. So did the observing SOLDIER's that were watching from above. Even the four in the room had different expressions on their faces, from completely dumbfounded, to amusement. The trooper looked up to the window the four first classes were in. He removed his helmet. His blonde spikes quickly rose and stood on end, and his light blue eyes shimmered from the lights above him. His face was firm and cold. Dare they think colder since he had removed his helmet. He acually gave them a firm salute and walked over to the table with the evaluators.

"...Woah! That was awesome!" Zack exclaimed after a pause of silence had resonated through the observation room they were still currently in. "Hmm." Sephiroth huffed, a small smirk flicered across his face. This trooper definatly showed some potential.

"That was impressive." Angeal commented with half widened eyes.

Genesis's eyes were half lidded in an amused expression. "He is one interesting infantryman." He said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I wonder whose unit he's gunna be put under?" Zack questioned, bounding up from his spot quickly, and turning towards his three friend's behind him.

"So, Whose unit do you think he'll be in?" Genesis spoke up, to the small group that had moved away from the window.

"Wanna place bets?" Zack asked with a sly smile.

"Well, regardless, we'll find out tomorrow. Everyone is always present when 'inoguration' happens. He could be put an any group. So placing bets wouldn't be wise, Zack." Angeal told him.

The second class pouted with puffed out cheeks and rolled his blue eyes. "Fine." He moaped after exhaling sharply.

"Well, we might as well call it a day." Sephiroth spoke up from the group as he left the room and into the empty streach of the hallway.

"Sounds good." Genesis seconded, also leaving the room.

Angeal nodded and left without a word, leaving Zack to be the only one in the room.

"h-Hey! Wait for me!" He called, hurridly dashing after the group.  
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_A/N: So, there's chapter one! Please tell me what you think of it! I would love some feedback from you all! :3_

_Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this story, and the parts will always be this detailed in description. I'll try to update these reworked chapters on a regular basis, we'll see, but Until then, thank you all! :)_

_Toodles! :D ~Zimithrus1_


	2. Chapter 2: Inoguration

_Alrighty! Chapter two of our altered version is up and ready for reading! I appreciate the feedback I've gotten so far, and thanks and virtual cookies to those who have faved,_  
_followed, and reviewed! :D Well, let's get this show on the road!_  
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~XChapter 2: InogurationX~_

"Yet again, the puppy is late. Dare I say, per usual for him." Genesis blandly said, seeing as Zack was once again late. The firy red-head had his nose buried deep into his prized LOVELESS book to help pass time until Inoguration began.

Angeal could only sigh to himself and shake his head. A few loose strands of his off black hair swung with his head, and his blue eye closed in near annoyance, but only briefly. He would have to talk to Zack about being on time. Punctuality was a skill the energetic puppy did not seem to come with. Inoguration was about to commence, and the vivacious teenager was nowhere to be found.

As standard procedure, each SOLDIER first class was required to be at this event, since any infantryman could be placed within their ranks. Said Second Class was not required to be at this event, but he often showed up anyway just to see who was put under whose unit. Some of the willing higher-ups stood on the other side of the hallway that was filled with infantrymen, SOLDIER's, and some of the Turks had decided to drop in for worthy looking candidates. Tseng was here yet again, just like yesterday during assessment. Alongside the stoic man was a flamboyant red-head, accompanied by his taciturn partner.

Perhaps These three were scouting our future Turk members. It wasn't uncommon for newly placed infantryman to up and leave with that black suit group. As sneaky as the group was, they were close knit and always had each others back. The standard military was different. They didn't care how many lives of nameless cadets were lost, just as long as the brainless masses pulled together briefly just to get the job done.

Eyes from workers and passer-bys alike skimmed the unified row of infantrymen, all standing nervously, or constantly shifting their weight to either side of their body. The only still and sharp one, was none other than the fearless cadet from yesterday's assessments. His helmet was on, but the three could tell that it was him, due to his posture and his smoulder from under the visor. The feedback of a microphone screeched across the large room. Some groaned loudly when the sharp ringing echoed in their eardrums. Two small taps to the microphone grabbed everyone's attention.

"Welcome, SOLDIER's, Commanders, and employees alike, to the Infantry Inoguration!" Lazard spoke through the velvet coating of the black microphone.

"He's missing it as we speak." Genesis spoke up, deciding that now was a good time to put LOVELESS away since Lazard had started speaking.

"'Scuse me! Coming through!" A familiar voice echoed quietly from the SOLDIER section of the split hall. There emerged Zack, out of breath once again. He slapped a hand against Angeal's back.

"Just barely made it!" He cheered breathless. A shaky fist shot up and penetrated the still air above. He let it fall back down as he took a gulp of fresh air. Angeal just rolled his eyes and found himself shaking his head again.

"We were quite impressed with the infantrymen who made it this far, because as you know, not everyone trying for our wonderful cooperation gets in. Since yesterday's assessments, we have narrowed down the men among us to twenty-one!" Lazard continued, taking breathers whenever it was necessary.

The mic would squeal on occasion, making everyone cringe at the earsplitting sound. They really needed to get those fixed. Sadly, most of Shin-Ra's budget was not spent on repairs, but moreover on the science and SOLDIER departments. Technology was advanced here, but hardly ever maintained.

"Today, we shall place them among our ranks to whom we see fit to train them." Lazard said, as his gaze was morely focused on the infantrymen. "First up, we have Samuel Wheller." He called out.

The infantryman took slow and cautious steps toward the podium that Lazard was behind. His steps were slightly shaky, even though the man tried to make himself seem confident. The man named Samuel was put under the tutelage of a higher-up of the regular army. On-by-one, names were called, until only one remained. Just like yesterday, he was the one that was saved for last. Well, as the saying goes: "Save the Best For Last".

"...And lastly on our roster, we have Cloud Strife." Lazard called.

"Some name." Sephiroth softly spoke up. His arms were comfortably crossed across his chest, and his eyes had closed for only a moment before they opened back up to return moisture to his icy blue eyes.

"You're one to talk." Zack spoke up with a trademark grin of his. A thin line of ivory white teeth poked through from his thin yet amused grin. His piercing sky blue eyes shimmered playfully in the bright lighting of this room.

Cloud approached the podium with his head held high in an arrogant manner. He had a nice even stride as he walked. He stopped just inches away from the podium when he reached it. Everyone else had stopped feet away, too nervous to stand so close to a higher-up like the SOLDIER director.

"Cloud, after careful deliberation, we've decided to put you under the tutelage of Gregory Hills." The sandy blonde haired man spoke, his tone was even and careful as he spoke.

Zack blinked once, an absent look forming across his face. Sephiroth arched a silver brow in near amusement tinted with a bit of curiosity. Genesis scoffed with a flicker of a smirk across his face. Angeal looked taken aback at the decision, his his head jerked back ever so slightly and he blinked absently just like Zack had done.

What on Gaia was Lazard thinking? Granted, Cloud was extremely skilled, but to put him under the tutelage of Gregory Hills? Had the director gone insane? Greg was the toughest, strictest, and the most hated in all of Shinra. Usually, students being trained under him left every day with some form of black eye, broken bone, or internal injury.

Plus, to put the icing on this bitch-cake named Gregory, he had no respect for infantrymen what-so-ever. His training was ruthless, and he pushed the poor cadets around all the time. He was even worse then Genesis having a bad day, and loosing LOVELESS all at the same time. You did NOT want to tangle with Genesis if his precious book had gone missing.

Cloud only continued to hold his firm smoulder. He only nodded and stepped away from the podium, and approached Greg on the other side of the split hall. He still walked with his head held high, and his stride was even as ever.

"Welcome to Hell." Greg said gruffly, snorting at the cadet. His deep brown eyes drilled into Cloud's as a large uneven grin split across his face.

Cloud brushed him off like nothing and ignored the comment. What a brave, and VERY ignorant soul. He stood right beside Greg and didn't move a muscle.

"This is an interesting development." Angeal spoke up, coming over his perplexion.

Zack did not say a word, but his eyes drooped ever so slightly. As hard and firm as Cloud seemed to be, he felt bad for the kid. He had tangled with Greg before when he was only a third class, and it ended up with the young ravenette slammed into the wall with Greg shouting at him and belittling his existence. Ever since then, he tried to keep his distance from the maniac.

"With Infantry Inoguration at it's end, the new mentors for these cadets get the whole day to train them, with that, you're all dismissed." Lazard said, stepping down from the podium.

Crowds began to search for the exits on each end of the hall. Genesis only smirked and began to leisurely walk through the crowds. The others instantly split and formed a path for the high-strung first class. Everyone in Shinra knew that Genesis would not take kindly to being shoved around in a beeline to the exit.

Zack snapped out of his daze and quickly followed behind the red-head, getting a free ticket from being smushed by the crowds of people trying to leave all at the same time. Once the group of SOLDIER's made the clear from the crowds and in their own little circle, they began to talk about how Lazard must have been insane or sleep deprived to do that to Cloud, even if he looked like he could survive.

As they were conversing, none other than Cloud, and a few other infantrymen zipped by. Greg following after them, shouting at them and telling them to pick up the pace.

"Woah!" Zack cried when Greg roughly bumped into him, causing his balance to falter.

The first class clumsily tried to find his footing, but ended up fumbling around trying to keep from falling down. When he had regained his stolen balance, he looked up to see Greg darkly laughing from what he had done. The young ravenette shot the older auburnette a harsh glare. That guy was a real pain in the ass.

"Don't you have some cadets to train, Hills?" Angeal roughly inquired, his blue eyes narrowing firmly at the younger man. He would not tolerate his behaviour after nearly knocking his student over.

Greg stopped laughing when Angeal cut in and followed after the cadets that had ran before him just a few seconds ago, telling them to run faster or they'd get it.

"I really hate that guy." Zack growled, glaring roughly at where Greg had stopped to laugh at him earlier.

"Stand down, Fair. Don't fall to his level. It would make you no better than him." Sephiroth spoke up. His voice had a tint of bitterness behind it. He must have been annoyed with the man as well. HIs icy blue eyes had been narrowed as well. That guy could put anyone in a sour mood. He was nearly as bad as Hojo in terms of behaviour.

Genesis remained silent, and hadn't spoken a single word. He only stood in the small circle and looked to be in deep thought. Either that, or he just did not feel like speaking up at the present moment.

The troopers, plus Cloud, zipped by once again. Although, while they were turning a sharp corner, Cloud slipped and fell onto the tile face first. His helmet flew off and tumbled onto the ground. He didn't even moan or groan. He only hunched up to his hands and knees, and shook his head slowly.

"He's a fast runner, but he's pretty clumsy." Genesis commented as his arms comfortably crossed over his chest as he spoke.

Upon hearing that comment, Cloud's head snapped over to the group, giving them a harsh glare that rivaled the darkness of Greg's laughter. He stood up from the ground and brushed himself off, still glaring at the group. He softly snorted at them, then turned on his heel and picked his helmet up from the floor. He put it back onto his head, then took off in a sprint.

"Same old smoulder." Genesis commented with a flicker of light behind his milky green-blue eyes.

Zack had just watched Cloud run off after picking up his helmet. He fell quiet upon noticing what he did. Behind those icy cold eyes of the cadet, there was another emotion carefully hidden away behind that smoulder. It was embarrassment. Through the angry glare he had given the group, deep down he had been embarrassed that someone had seen him screw up. That cadet was a mystery. The young ravenette's eyes hardened slightly. He was going to figure out the puzzle of the frozen cadet.

_~x~_~X~_~x~_~X~_

Zack's Mako blue eyes displayed disgust when he saw what was slopped onto his styrofoam plate this time. Ravioli. Usually, he never minded the meat stuffed noodles, but when they were from the Shin-Ra cafeteria, one could only cringe. Cold ravioli was just disgusting, especially when you saw it come straight from the can and slopped onto your tray.

Zack sighed outward, knowing that complaining about it wasn't going to magically change his food into something better. He made his way through the line like everybody else, grabbing other items to compliment the main course. He had grabbed a slice of buttered bread, a can of Ton-Berry Blast fruit juice, and a slice of apple pie. Seriously, the desserts were they only thing that tasted good around here. He left the lunch line, only to have his eyes droop once more when he saw how crowded it was. He knew he should have gotten here earlier.

His blue eyes scanned the crowds for a vacant table, or one with only a few people. He saw a table that had only one person sitting there. He quickly made his way over to the table before anyone else could get there. As he approached, he noticed a familiar head of impossible blonde hair.

Cloud was sitting by himself at the table. Before advancing any further, Zack scanned the tables around the blonde's, only to discover that everyone else was sitting as far away as they could from him. Some that dared to sit close enough were whispering and pointing at him. The cadet was paying no attention to them, and was just poking a fork into his ravioli. His left hand was holding his face up, and his elbow was propped against the table.

The ravenette made sure he plopped his tray down loudly next to the blonde, then loudly sat himself down. When he looked over at the others whispering about the blonde, the others had hurriedly looked away and went back to their own business. Nearly immediately, he was eye-to-eye with the blonde. His icy eyes were staring into his, sizing him up almost. The cadet was glaring at Zack, yet he was still poking at his ravioli.

"Not one for ravioli huh?" Zack asked with a smirk. Cloud only stared at him with that famous smoulder of his. He was still poking the noodles.

"So, how are you?" The ravenette asked, taking a bite of the cold ravioli. Yes it was disgusting, but hey, he was starving!

Cloud did not speak, but looked down at his ravioli, then looked back up at Zack, still with cold eyes, but it looked as if he was trying to ask,

'How does the food taste?'

"You should try it." The second class said, taking another bite of his and forcefully swallowing. The texture was really getting to him. The meat on the inside of the noodles was chewy and lukewarm, and as he swallowed, it felt like mud sliding down his throat.

Cloud, seeing Zack's disgusted face after swallowing the ravioli, only pushed his tray away. "I'm not hungry." He said softly and coldly.

"Yeah, the food here sucks, but you get used to it." The ravenette said.

Cloud only looked over at one of his comrades, in which was whispering to the one next to him and pointing at the blonde, then they both started to silently laugh. Whenever they looked back up and saw Cloud with his smoulder, which was now colder than usual, they stopped laughing and returned to their food.

"Wow, they don't let up for one second do they?" Zack asked, resting his face in his hands.

"It's not that bad." Cloud said, still soft and firm.

Zack looked at him, doubt swirling behind his eyes. He knew that was a lie. He could just tell. The blonde wasn't as hard-hearted as he seemed to be. The emotions the ravenette could see behind the glare gave it away. Cloud stood up and grabbed his tray. He looked back at the second class.

"Goodbye." He said, slowly turning around and walking away. He threw away his untouched food and walked out of the cafeteria.

Zack blinked once, watching the blonde walk out of the cafeteria. People gave him a wide berth as he left. Others were intimidated by him by the way he carried himself, but if anything, it just made him more interesting..


End file.
